The Iceland Road Trip Checklist

A self-drive Iceland trip rewards a bit of upfront preparation — most of it is quick to sort out, but easy to forget until you actually need it.

Before you pick up the car

• Confirm your rental includes the right insurance for your season — gravel and ash protection matters even in summer.
• Book winter tyres explicitly if travelling outside summer — don’t assume they’re automatic.
• Check whether your route needs a 4x4 (highland F-roads do; the Ring Road generally doesn’t).

Apps and information worth having ready

• road.is for real-time road conditions and closures.
• The Icelandic Met Office site for weather and aurora forecasts.
• Offline maps downloaded for any stretch with weak signal.

Daily habits on the road

Check road and weather conditions each morning, not just once before the trip — conditions change day to day, sometimes hour to hour. Keep the fuel tank topped up more often than habit suggests; rural stretches can go a long way between stations.

Nearly every road trip problem in Iceland traces back to the same mistake: trusting yesterday’s forecast instead of checking today’s.